One of the lasting memories from the NFC Championship on the side of the Los Angeles Rams is punt returner Xavier Smith’s lost fumble deep in his own territory. This costly mistake came shortly after the half. The Seattle Seahawks scored just one play later to extend their lead to 24-13.
The Rams have made special teams a focal point of improvement over the offseason—arguably more than any other single position outside of corner.
LA signed long snapper Joe Cardona from the New England Patriots in order
to address concerns within the field goal operation. Also joining the Rams through free agency was special teams ace Grant Stuard, who most recently played with the Detroit Lions. Stuard has played nearly 1,700 special teams snaps in his five-year career.
But as encouraging as the special teams improvements overall are, I still wonder if the Rams have done enough to improve in the return game.
After free agency and the draft, is Smith still the leading return specialist?
Who handled the duties last year?
We should approach kick return and punts separately as these require differing skillsets. Kick returners are usually bulkier runners who can break tackles. Punt returners are usually more shifty and straight-line fast.
All data from Pro Football Focus (PFF):
Kick return
- Jordan Whittington, WR: 24 returns for 589 yards (24.5 avg); 38 long
- Ronnie Rivers, RB: 22 returns for 569 yards (25.9 avg); 46 long
- Blake Corum, RB: 14 returns for 326 yards (23.3 avg); 30 long
- Xavier Smith, WR: 13 returns for 301 yards (23.2 avg); 32 long
While none other than Corum are a surefire lock to make the 53-man roster, all four of these players are currently on the offseason roster. Rivers was the most effective kick returner over the course of the season on a per return basis.
But if Rivers is truly the Rams’ best return man, that isn’t good enough. Rivers was tied 30th in kick return average, which means the majority of the NFL was better at generating favorable starting field position.
Punt return
- Xavier Smith, WR: 30 returns for 249 yards (8.3 avg); 31 long; 2 muffs
- Kyren Williams, RB: 1 return for 8 yards
Williams’ only return came in the NFC Championship game once Smith was yanked for his costly mistake.
Similar to Rivers, Williams ranked towards the bottom of the league in return average at 26th. The Rams are leaving meat on the bone without a stronger return man and focus on special teams. That’s not good enough.
Options for 2026
It’s difficult to expect anything different than more of the same for the Rams in the return game in 2026, as disheartening as that may be. Newcomers like CJ Daniels have minimal experience handling such duties. Even the undrafted free agent crop does not seem to bring much capability in this area.
One option further down the depth chart is WR Brennan Presley, who at least has a long return touchdown on his resume from college. There is not enough information to conclude that Presley has more upside than Smith. He’d simply be different.
While the Rams spent the offseason aiming to improve in the third phase of the game, they have not yet moved the needle in either the punt or kick return departments.
